Sunday afternoon regional film show!!!
Mumbai Underworld has been the inspiration for many Hindi crime-based films. However, with the super success and acclaim of Mani Ratnam's cult Tamil hit Nayakan starring Kamal Hassan, many South Indian films were also set in Bombay crime land. One such popular film is PriyaDarshan's 1991 Malayalam hit -Abhimanyu starring his fav superstar Mohanlal in the lead. The film is set to be loosely inspired by the life of now-forgotten criminal Bada Rajan, who was a kinda mentor to underworld don Chota Rajan. This of course is added by loads of fiction and cinematic liberty, though using some real references. Having watched so many films on the Mumbai underworld, the film now looks predictable and has some avoidable side tracks.
However, the team of Priyadarshan-Mohanlal again rises above the basic story and makes it an entertaining crime saga. Priyadarshan and his team capture the spirit of Bombay of the early 1990s and the action scenes are done very well. To add authenticity to the film, a huge chunk of dialogues are in Bambaiya Hindi despite Abhimanyu being a big Malayalam film. The title refers parallel to Mahabharat where Abhimanyu gets stuck once he enters the Chakravyuha. Mohanlal is first rate and later on, also did films like Company and even Lucifer which had Mumbai underworld angle as well. Rami Reddy as the scary henchman again manages to look menacing. The Hindi film actor Mahesh Anand plays the main villain here and is very stylish.
The film's impact can be seen later on in Hindi crime capers like Vaastav and the sequel Hathyaar.
A decent crime film lifted by Mohanlal's performance and Priyadarshan's treatment!
